ail vs colic

ail

noun
  • The awn of barley or other types of corn. 

verb
  • To be ill; to suffer; to be troubled. 

  • To cause to suffer; to trouble, afflict. (Now chiefly in interrogative or indefinite constructions.) 

colic

noun
  • A medicinal plant used to relieve such symptoms. 

  • Severe fussiness and crying, especially of infants with certain medical conditions. 

  • Severe pains that grip the abdomen or the disease that causes such pains (due to intestinal or bowel-related problems). 

adj
  • Relating to the colon; colonic. 

How often have the words ail and colic occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )